FIU architecture students celebrated two decades of Walk on Water, a class assignment-turned-annual contest, on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Most of the two dozen or so students stepping into creatively buoyant contraptions to cross the 175-foot lake behind the Green Library were part of professor Jaime Canaves’ Materials and Methods of Construction class and were participating in hopes of getting an “A” and the $500 first place prize. The contest, however, was open to all students.

Cristina Fernandez shares a laugh with President Mark B. Rosenberg and Prof. Jaime Canaves after winning Walk on Water.

The winner was Cristina Fernandez, 20, a junior in the accelerated master’s program in architecture who also won last year. Fernandez glided across the finish line in what looked like two wooden boats. And she did it in record time – 1:13. Her advice to future competitors: “Plan ahead and start early.”

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